New York Law Journal, The New York Times, AP, and Others Report on NRA Trial Proceedings
January 9, 2024 – Trial proceedings for the New York Attorney General's (NYAG) case against the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) began this week in New York. As reported, in opening arguments for the NRA, Brewer partner Sarah B. Rogers told jurors that the NRA is a victim in the civil fraud lawsuit.
“This is an unusual lawsuit,” Rogers said. “Any damages you award in this case will be paid to the NRA. The government acknowledges that my client is the victim.”
NYAG Letitia James filed suit against the NRA, former CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, former CFO Wilson Phillips, and General Counsel John Frazer in August 2020, "alleging the improper use of tens of millions of dollars of charitable funds and breach of fiduciary duty," the New York Law Journal (NYLJ) reported. Former NRA Chief of Staff Josh Powell reached a settlement with the NYAG's office prior to trial.
As noted in media reports, Rogers said there was no question that some individuals, some executives, an ad agency, a travel agent "betrayed" the nonprofit’s mission. But, she said, “The only question is why the NRA, the victim...is a defendant in this case."
Rogers noted that Mr. LaPierre has been a valuable and visionary leader for the NRA and its mission.
The NYLJ reported that Rogers personally requested to deliver the NRA's opening statement, as someone who grew up in New York City and considered the need for a gun only after being attacked by two men.
"The decision to own a firearm does not just belong to the king, or the militia, or the cops. In America, it's yours," Rogers said.
Trial is expected to last six weeks.
To read more about the NRA's opening arguments, click the following links:
Law 360: NRA Tells Justices AG's Probe Basis Needs More Inquiry
October 19, 2023 – Law 360 reported today on emerging developments in the case by the New York Attorney General against the National Rifle Association of America (NRA).
According to the reporting, Brewer counsel “Noah Peters told the Appellate Division, First Department, that a judge got it wrong when he dismissed the NRA's claim that the attorney general's political statements were the motivating force behind her civil financial fraud action accusing the NRA's leaders of funneling millions of dollars into their own pockets. The nonprofit has said James flaunted her hatred of the organization while campaigning in 2018. She won election that November.”
The June 2022 dismissal would "essentially insulate any retaliatory action undertaken by the attorney general so long as the attorney general could later point to some probable cause for her action," Peters told the four justices.
Read the article here.
Law360: 18 States Want High Court To Take NRA Blacklisting Suit
April 6, 2023 — Law360 reports that Montana and 17 other states are "lining up behind the National Rifle Association at the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to take up the gun group's appeal arguing that a probe into NRA-affiliated insurers and statements from a former New York official about the reputational harm of associating with the group violated its constitutional rights."
The report states that the attorneys general filed an amicus brief on April 4, which asks the court to correct a Second Circuit decision they say "departed from [the Supreme Court's] clear instruction and gave state officials license to target and crackdown on their political opponents' protected speech."
The NRA, which is represented by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, filed suit in 2018 against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) and then-DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo. The NRA contends the parties took aim at the NRA and conspired to use DFS's regulatory power to financially blacklist the NRA – coercing banks and insurers to cut ties with the Association, in order to suppress its pro-Second Amendment speech.
The NRA's First Amendment claims withstood multiple motions to dismiss. But in 2022, after Vullo appealed the trial court's ruling on qualified immunity, the Second Circuit struck down the NRA's claims.
As Law360 reports, in its amicus brief, the states said, "The Second Circuit's decision gives government officials license to financially cripple their political opponents, or otherwise stifle their protected speech — whether those rivals advocate for school choice, abortion rights, religious liberty, environmental protections, or any other politically salient issue."
The NRA is represented by William A. Brewer III, Sarah B. Rogers and Noah Peters of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors and Eugene Volokh.
Read the full report here.
Read the amicus brief here.
Bloomberg Law Chronicles Legal Misfortunes of Case Against NRA
August 10, 2022 – Bloomberg Law reported today on the legal misfortunes of a plaintiff’s pursuit of Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). The reporting notes the potential demise of a 2019 lawsuit filed by former NRA donor David Dell’Aquila.
According to the article, “The NRA contends the lawsuit is baseless.”
“The majority of Mr. Dell’Aquila’s claims have been rejected by the courts—evidence this is a frivolous pursuit,” NRA lawyer William A. Brewer III said in a statement. “The NRA’s commitment to good governance is clear.”
To read more, click here.
Business Insider: NRA Pushes Back Against NY Attorney General's Demand for Independent Monitor
On June 7, 2022, Business Insider published an article stating that Brewer client the NRA is "fighting back against New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James' demand for an independent monitor who would oversee the gun group's operations, calling the idea 'intrusive, unnecessary and unprecedented.'"
On March 2, 2022, a New York court struck down attempts by NYAG James to dissolve the NRA – delivering a big win for the NRA. Since that loss, the NYAG "has amended her complaint but added no new factual allegations," the NRA states in its new court filing.
"Rather, she asserts a new cause of action which seeks the intrusive, unnecessary and unprecedented appointment of an 'independent' compliance monitor to oversee the administration of the NRA, answerable to the NYAG's own office as well as the Court," the filing says.
"There is no colorable practical need, and no legal basis, for the NYAG to contrive a de facto takeover of the NRA to replace her defunct dissolution claims," according to the filing.
"Rather, the parties should proceed with discovery and trial on the NYAG's previously existing claims, and the new one should be dismissed."
To read more, click here.
CNBC Reports on Potency of NRA, Brewer Statement on Uvalde, Texas and Representation of Association
On May 27, 2022, CNBC published the report, “The National Rifle Association’s Lobbying Machine is Still Potent Despite Financial Woes That Reduced Its Clout.”
The article states that the NRA’s “financial filings and lobbying disclosures show the group still has the means” to advocate for Second Amendment freedom — and is expected to play an active role in the upcoming midterms.
The article notes that the NRA continues to have the “support of a key advisor that helped it weather its recent financial and legal troubles.”
Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, has represented the NRA since 2018 in connection with several legal and regulatory issues. As an example, in March, the firm and the NRA successfully defeated dissolution claims against the NRA by the New York Attorney General. The NYAG filed a lawsuit in August 2020 seeking to shut down the Association — an action that has drawn the rebuke of many legal experts and constitutional scholars, including the ACLU.
The article reports that the Brewer firm has no plans to stop representing the Association.
The firm said that it will “honor our commitments to the Association, its leadership, and millions of law-abiding members.”
Regarding the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the firm said in a statement, “This was an incomprehensible tragedy – the act of a deranged person. We extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to the victims, their families and this entire community. We also join others in the call to provide protection in our schools – to make them safe and secure.”
To read more, click here.
New York Law Journal, Others Report on NRA Victory
On March 4, 2022, a front-page article in the New York Law Journal, “Manhattan Judge Rejects NY AG’s Effort to Dissolve National Rifle Association,” reported that a ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen dismissed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ effort to dissolve the organization.
The report noted that Cohen found that dissolving the NRA “could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights of millions of members” of the NRA.
The report added that NRA lead attorney William Brewer applauded the ruling, stating that, “This is a victory not only for the NRA, but all who believe in the right to free speech and association.”
The article follows positive reports from many news organizations, including the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and the Daily Caller, among others. To read more in the NYLJ, click here.
Wall Street Journal Reports on NRA Legal Victory
On March 2, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that a state court judge dismissed the New York Attorney General’s effort to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA), finding that the state’s allegations did not prove the public harm required to impose a “corporate death penalty” on the NRA.
“We applaud the court’s recognition that dissolution is neither appropriate nor justified,” said William A. Brewer III, an attorney for the NRA. “We look forward to continuing the defense of the NRA—and proving that it acts in the best interests of its members and the Second Amendment freedoms in which they believe.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the ruling by New York Supreme Court Judge Joel M. Cohen “represented a big win for the NRA.” The judge found that dissolving the NRA “could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights” of NRA members.
The NRA has been a New York nonprofit since its founding more than 150 years ago. The Journal reported that the NRA has charged that the suit brought by NYAG Letitia James is politically motivated.
To read more, click here.